The path to No. 1 -- a journey four decades in the making -- started with a single sheet of notebook paper; a notice hand-written in magic marker and tacked to a board in the student center at Quinnipiac.

It was the fall of 1970. At Quinnipiac, hockey was non-existent. An on-again, off-again club team was disbanded sometime in the late 60s due to a lack of interest. This time, thanks to the diligence and determination of a handful of students, hockey would finally gain some traction.

Today, of course, the school's program has reached unprecedented heights -- ranked No. 1 in America, playing before standing-room only crowds in one of the finest facilities in the nation and aiming for a historic trip to the Frozen Four next month.

Forty-three years ago? There was only Patlin, an unwavering transfer student from New York who just wanted to play a little hockey in the down time between his studies.

"The one thing Quinnipiac was lacking to me personally was a hockey team," Patlin said. "It was more of a basketball school then. I figured if there was ever going to be a hockey team, it would be up to me to start one."

Patlin had been introduced to Bill Dungan, a fellow sophomore who'd played varsity hockey at New Canaan High. The two spread the word, and soon there was enough interest for Patlin to approach Quinnipiac athletic director Burt Kahn to ask for funding.

Kahn, also the school's basketball coach and not exactly a hockey fanatic, was reluctant, Patlin said, but gave the club a green light. The budget was a paltry $1,100, to be rationed over the year for ice time, bus rentals and paying referees. But Quinnipiac, for better or worse, had its team.

"It was an eclectic mix of people," Dungan said. "You had some who really wanted to be there, some doing it because it was fun and some who absolutely could not play. We knew if we were going to be successful, it would have to be an incredible effort. We needed to play our hearts out, and everyone did."

Nothing was easy. Quinnipiac managed to secure ice time at Hamden High, though it could only afford to practice once or twice a week, usually at 5 a.m. or 11 p.m. Players supplied their own gear, though the school provided uniforms leftover from a previous incarnation of the club -- faded, moth-ridden and shrunken from one too many spins in the dryer.

The height of luxury was playing at Wesleyan's then-brand new rink and being greeted in the locker room by a stack of clean, blue terry cloth towels.

Still, the first season was a success. So much so that Patlin managed to squeeze $4,000 out of Kahn for the second season, which bought new uniforms and some equipment. But it was unable to work out a deal with Hamden High, forcing the team to a variety of venues, including South Windsor.

"It might as well have been at the other end of the world," Patlin said. "You'd leave for practice at 10 p.m., get back to Hamden at 1 a.m. and then have to be up at 8 a.m. for classes."

Quinnipiac worked out a deal with the New Haven Arena -- Patlin meeting with legendary building owner Nate Podoloff -- to rent ice time at a discount. The 50-year old Arena would be shuttering its doors after the New Haven Blades' season, and Quinnipiac players soon understood why.

"It was probably condemned while we were there," Patlin said. "You definitely didn't want to shower in that place. It was pretty dismal."

By Season 3, the final year for seniors Patlin and Dungan, the club truly began to take off. There were more players, the team was accepted into a league that included regional club teams like Fairfield, Iona and St. John's, and a new local rink in Cheshire.

Jack Leetch was the rink manager. A former All-American at Boston College whose 4-year-old son, Brian, would go on to become a Hockey Hall of Famer with the New York Rangers, agreed to let Quinnipiac practice there on one condition.

"He wanted to be the coach," Patlin said. "That lasted about two practices. We were a club sport and kind of a motley crew. I think he was used to quite a different cast of characters and didn't realize what he was getting himself into."

Quinnipiac won its share of games -- the season's highlight was a 10-1 victory over Columbia -- and home games were fairly well attended.

Patlin and Dungan graduated that spring, though Dungan remained in Hamden the following winter to coach Quinnipiac through the 1974 season.

By the summer of 1975, Quinnipiac had elevated hockey to varsity status. The rest is history.

Patlin and Dungan have followed the program's rise from afar.

Dungan, a businessman in North Carolina after several years working in Europe, made it back to Hamden last summer for the first time since 1975. He was particularly struck by the York Hill campus, little more than woods atop a big rock until it was purchased and developed about 10 years ago.

"My jaw dropped," Dungan said. "I was just blown away by what has happened to that school."

Patlin, an aerial coordinator in Los Angeles who leases helicopters and airplanes for television and movies, made his visit three years ago. Quinnipiac assistant hockey coach Bill Riga gave him a tour of the new hockey facilities.

A couple of current players were in the locker room. Riga introduced Patlin and mentioned to them that he was the father of the hockey program.

"That gave me kind of a big head," Patlin says with a laugh. "Just call me the Anatoli Tarasov of Quinnipiac hockey. Maybe they'll put my name on a brick in front of the rink someday."

A varsity hockey program might have made its way to Quinnipiac some day. A Division I program, multi-million dollar arena, Cleary Cup and, if this year's version of the Bobcats has it their way, a national championship, might have been inevitable. But the basic elements and groundwork were built by the dozen guys who made their way to Patlin's dorm room in the fall of 1970.